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Safeguarding our aquifers and groundwater

As we learn in this month's cover story, groundwater supplies 38 percent of the drinking water in the United States and half of the global drinking water supply. The aquifers beneath the ground can feed hundreds of groundwater wells, public water supplies and surface waters. Luckily, here in Michigan, aquifers recharge on average between 2.1 and four inches per year. While we are not in danger of running out of water, we must protect all of it from contamination, notably from poorly maintained septic systems, and fertilizer and herbicide runoffs into our lakes, streams and groundwater.


Oakland County is blessed to be populated by over 1,000 lakes – the most of any county in the state. With that comes both privilege and responsibility. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), more than 233,000 Oakland County residents use private wells for drinking water – and over 95 percent of the wells in the county draw water from shallow glacial aquifer. Groundwater that is not withdrawn from the shallow glacier aquifer eventually flows into rivers, lakes and wetlands in and around Oakland County, accounting for a great percentage of all Oakland's surface waters.


If there is contamination in the groundwater, it will travel to a river, stream or lake, according to USGS. And cleaning up contaminated groundwater is an expensive and very prolonged process, one which can often take years, if not decades. Not only a homeowner, but a whole community can bear the cost through lower property values, replacement or expansion of public water supplies and replacement or abandonment of private wells.


The better option is prevention of pollution in the first place.


Some municipalities around the country and the state, including a few in Oakland County, have created local ordinances that tightly regulate the application of fertilizer and weed prevention chemicals near lakes because of the high potential for runoff, which creates groundwater and lake contamination. An example is the tiny community of Wolverine Lake in western Oakland County, with many homes encircling its lake, which had the foresight to institute just such an ordinance years ago to try to keep its lake and wells pristine.


While they may have been ahead of their time, it is now time for Oakland County to research and enact a countywide ordinance to protect and preserve all our groundwater. If that is not feasible, local municipalities must do it themselves.


For example, Bloomfield Township is in the midst of battling with the DNR to permit its 10 local lakes to prevent all motorized watercraft, rather than just no-wake watercraft regulations. We suggest the township take a leadership role and enact an ordinance to take their lake protection one step further to regulate the protection of the township's groundwater and lakes. It would be a long-term step in safeguarding and preserving the water in the township – a portion of residents are still on wells and septic systems.


While regulating chemical applications in close proximity to surface waters, the state of Michigan or perhaps the county of Oakland also needs to address the lack of mandated inspections of septic systems, often referred to as on site wastewater systems. Michigan is one of the few remaining states where mandated inspections at time of sale for a home are not required, and past efforts at passing a state requirement for septic inspections have met with strong pushback by lobbyists. Keep in mind that over 1.3 million residences in the state, which is about one third of all residences, rely on septic systems, which if not properly maintained can impact surface waters, groundwater and aquifers.


Such foresight to protect our waters is in everyone's interest. For today, and tomorrow.

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